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To (over) simplify things, companies exist to make money. So what's the point of giving that money away?

While estimates of what Canadian companies contribute to charity each year vary widely, for many companies, giving to the needy doesn't end with a splashy cheque presentation. A survey of over 900 businesses found that 53 per cent encouraged their employees to volunteer during work hours or accommodated their employees' volunteering activities.

“It's about staff motivation. It's a great way to engage your employees and build a deeper connection across the company,” says Rob King, vice-president of strategic marketing for Sage Software Inc. in Richmond, B.C., which, on June 6, sent its 400 branch employees out to community charitable groups for the day.

MAKE IT EASY

At Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. in Chicago, the business gives its employees a paid day off to volunteer. The only requirement? Workers must volunteer as a group to keep the team spirit alive.

Glen Tullman, Allscripts chief executive officer, thinks it's important to make volunteering as easy as possible so even the most timid employees will try it. “It's designed to be easy. We certainly don't want to penalize them or force them to take a day without pay,” he says.

Other companies try to simplify the process by setting a specific day aside for volunteering. At Mars Canada Inc., in Bolton, Ont., employees took off for a good chunk of the day in early June to volunteer at a local animal shelter. The company kept the day's schedule flexible so employees could come and go to match their workload.

Meanwhile, Telus Corp. makes it simple for employees to sign up for its annual day of service, which this year attracted 8,000 employees, family and friends, to help out at soup kitchens, and to plant trees. The company now posts its volunteer opportunities online.

“It is more of a challenge than you might think making sure the scale, scope and number of activities are meaningful for that number of people,” says Janet Yale, executive vice-president of corporate affairs, at Telus in Ottawa.

MAKE IT FUN

“We like to point out that the first three letters of fundraising is F-U-N,” jokes Doug Appleby, manager of community relations for UPS Canada in Mississauga. No wonder the corporation is known for its wild fundraising efforts. This year employees, and in fact anyone crazy enough to want to try it, can help pull UPS trucks with other brawny folk for the United Way.

SAS Canada in Toronto also prefers to keep charitable work on the zany side.

“Going around and collecting money for something, that sucks. It doesn't get people talking or involved,” says Ewan Dunderdale, business relationship manager and head of the social committee.

To that end, last November SAS raised $32,291.01 with its November Drive to beat prostate cancer. Men at the office let their mustaches grow until the end of the month. While employees had a blast checking out each other's facial hair, Mr. Dunderdale admits he was worried how his buttoned-up clients would react.

“My concern was that we might come across as unprofessional, but we didn't get any bad reactions whatsoever. Some people laughed at us because we did look ridiculous in these things, but it ended up being a great ice breaker at meetings,” he says.

Some clients even pledged to keep the drive going – and growing.

MAKING CONTACT

But how do charities react to 30 people showing up ready to paint their hallways or passing out food on the street? They're prepared, says Mr. King at Sage. As a staff member called around to find out what help was needed, they discovered that most non-profits and not-for-profits were old pros at taking on corporate volunteers. They had projects ready and waiting the days employees showed up to work.

“The biggest surprise was how easy it was to collect the charities that wanted to work with us. I was a little worried it would be intimidating or they would already have relationships with various companies. I was shocked that within a seven or 10 day period we secured so many,” he says.

RECRUIT AND RETAIN

Many companies say they offer charitable programs to give employees a positive and uplifting workplace. It works for Elizabeth Layton, a makeup artist and employee trainer for MAC Cosmetics in Toronto. Probably more than any other corporation, the company's marketing is tightly tied up with its AIDS charitable work, having donated $12.8-million to Canadian AIDS and HIV organizations. It recently sent makeup artists out to meet the women they were helping and to give them a mini-makeover.

“It just helps me feel really good about what I do. I make a difference in people's lives, whether or not the person I'm doing the makeup on knows it or not,” says Ms. Layton, who has been with MAC for more than eight years.

OUT OF THE OFFICE

Not that it's always easy to schedule time away from the business, even when it is for a good cause.

“It was a crunch,” admits Jennifer King, human resources director for accounting firm Fuller Landau in Toronto, when she mentions the company won an award for most time spent at a low-income tax clinic during tax time. “At one point everybody picks up and leaves. And it's like, ‘Okay, maybe not good scheduling there. But you iron out the bugs year over year.'”

Over at High View Communications in Toronto, a small five-employee firm, Ann Gallery, its president, is excited about spending a week with her employees building a house for the needy in Honduras this October. Although she has backup employees in place, she's also a little worried about closing down the office.

But after writing her clients about her “voluntourism” plans, many came back with more than polite support.

“What blew me away is that we had 15 or 20 people write back saying, ‘I want to come too,'” she says. “I figure the more the merrier.”

A CAREER BOOST

For those looking for one more reason to volunteer time, money and back muscles for a good cause, Mr. Tullman says it's a great way to stand out in a crowd at work. In fact, he admits he monitors who volunteers – and who doesn't.

“Hey, if you want to spend time with your CEO, go out and pull a plane for charity. He'll know you, you'll know him, and that's probably not the worst thing in the world.”